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DEDICATED 

TO 

ELBERT HUBBARD 



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Copyright, 1915 
By Helen Finch Kasson 



TMP96-006377 
S)CID 41680 

AUG 23 iai5 



THE NAME THEY HAVE FORGOT! 



CHARACTERS 

Traveler Second Soldier 

Pedler Third Soldier 

Peg Soldiers 

Woman at Inn Child 

First Soldier Baby 

Time : The Present Day 





« ACT ONE 4. 

HE action takes place late one afternoon 
in Summer in the taproom of Bosworth 
Inn. The room is scantily furnished, 
with two worn tables and several benches 
— the three uncurtained windows, 
through which the sun streams, making 
vivid the only color in the room : the 
pots of red geranium on the window-sills. At the right, there 
are several kegs against the wall ; over them is a shelf, on 
which rows of stone mugs are orderly arranged. A wooden- 
case clock, several prints, and a small table on which is an 
ink-bottle are the sole ornaments. At the left is a door, lead- 
ing into the street; at the back, a door leading into an 
inner room. 

At one of the tables a Pedler is sitting, a man of forty, with 
ruddy, honest, smooth-shaven face. Half-aloud he counts his 
money, which he is slowly taking from his leather wallet. 
The street door opens, the Traveler enters, a man of thirty- 
seven, slight, straight, coarse-clad in a strange shapeless 
garment, carrying a staff. Hesitating, he looks about. 



Pedler 

[Looking up and cautiously closing his wallet, return- 
ing it to his pocket] 
How 're you, traveler ! 



4k> THE FIRST ACT ** 

Traveler 
[Exhausted, throwing himself on bench, nods] 

Pedler 
Come from far? 

Traveler 
[Smiling sadly] Yes, and going farther. 

Pedler 

Humph ! you 're 'bout beat out now ! [Pause] 
PeddHn'? Hard 'nough when you 're carrjnn' 
takin' stuff, but when you ain't, worse 'an that. 
Sleepin' out o' nights, nothin' to eat. [Sympathetic- 
ally] I 've been there myself. [Filling his pipe] 
What 're you peddHn'.^ [Lighting his pipe] 

Traveler 

[Lifting his head] I am not peddhng ; I am giving 
away. 

Pedler 

[In astonishment] Givin' away.'^ Givin' away? 
[Chuckling, rubs his hands, slowly comprehending] 
Oh ! I see, advertisin' ! Well ! what 're you adver- 
tising? 

110] 



e5» THE FIRST ACT ^ 

Traveler 
[Measuring his words] What the world most needs. 

Pedler 

[Curiously] I guess that ain't agreed. There might 
be some arguin'. 

Traveler 
Yes, much arguing ; for as children, eyes shut with 
crying, they push aside the thing for which they 
weep. 

Pedler 
[Rapping on tables a woman enters, evidently the inn- 
keeper's wife; a child is clinging to her skirts, 
Pedler turning to the woman] Two pots, brimful, for 
we 're bone-dry. 

[The woman shuffles to the kegs, draws two mugs of 
ale, and deposits them on the table in front of the 
Pedler, The child eyes the traveler curiously.] 

Draw up and drink ! Why, man, your empty belly 
has made emptier your brain. 

[The street door opens and Peg enters. She is a 
pretty girl of the streets, about eighteen years, poorly 
clad. The child runs joyously towards her.] 

[11] 



THE FIRST ACT ^ 



Pedler 

[Pushing the mug towards the Traveler] Ain't you 
dry? 

Traveler 
[Sadly and slowly] That could not quench my thirst. 

Pedler 

[Disgusted, taking up his mug, notices Peg, who is 
standing near him] Hello there, Peg ! You here? 
[Pointing to the other mug] You won't let ale go 
beggin', eh? 

Peg 

[Coming to Pedler and reaching for the mug, meets 
the gaze of the Traveler. She hesitates, whispering to 
the Pedler.] Who 's he? 

Pedler 
Oh ! just a pedler like myself. Here, drink girl ! 

Peg 

[The earnest gaze of the Traveler making her uneasy] 
I ain't thirsty. Down it yourself — you can hold it. 
[Turns to caress the child] 

[12 1 



* THE FIRST ACT * 

The Woman 

[Who has been intently listening in conversation] 
You 're a fool, Peg ! That 's what you are — a fool. 
Do you think we 're goin' to stand for this? What 
can we make from you, with your nice ways 
o' late? {Excitedly\0\it in the street for you — out ! 
[Peg, ceasing fatting the child^s hair, slowly turns 
towards the door] And you [Addressing the Traveler] 
— you, are you goin' to eat and sleep here? 

Traveler 
I have no money, Woman. 

The Woman 

[Fiercely] Then pack out, the two o' you ! A pair 
o' you, worthless truck I call you. 

[The Traveler, ^picking up his staff, starts to follow 
Peg towards the street door, when the door is suddenly 
^^ burst open and a crowd of Soldiers rush in, laughing 
^ and talJcing.] 

First Soldier 

[Talking above the others] It 's been a hell of a wait, 
boys ; but we 're off, off at last ! Here, Mother, 

[13] 



THE FIRST ACT ^ 



[Turning to the Woman] don't stand gaping at us 
when our tongues are stuck to our throats. [The 
Woman, hurrying to the shelf, takes down mugs and 
begins to fill them.] 

Second Soldier 

[Speaking to First Soldier, and pointing to Traveler] 
That 's him ! That 's the man ! 

Third Soldier 
Yes ; that 's the guy that spoke in the square. 

First Soldier 

[Turning towards Peg and Traveler; the street door 
having been locked by the soldiers, they had been 
unable to pass into the street.] So you 're the man, 
are you? Well ! How goes your peace rot? [General 
laughter] Did you get any converts among the 
toothless old women and toddling children? 

[The Woman returns with the mugs, and Peg, timidly 
taking the Traveler s hand, attempts to pass into the 
street.] 

Here, Peg, cut it out ! Don't sulk out — stand by, 
like the sport you are ! He 's going to toast for us. 

[14] 



THE FIRST ACT 



[With a great flourish, offering the mug to the 
Traveler] Now do your prettiest. Give us a real 
good one, like you gave on the square. 

Peg 
[Snatching the mug from the Soldier^s hand and 
jumping on the table] He don't know how to toast — 
best let 'im alone, boys. Here 's to [Raising her 
mug] — Here 's to [Peg^s voice is drowned by the shout 
of one of the soldiers] Hell with peace ! [Bursts of 
laughter as the " To Hell with Peace " is hilariously 
repeated] 




15] 



ff 



ACT TWO 




[EG'S room. The hearth on the left, a 
bare table, two chairs, a cupboard, an 
old bed and a box in one corner complete 
the furnishings, which are hardly dis- 
cernible in the dusk. A window, on the 
right, overlooks a church in the street 
below. Door on left. 
Peg and the Traveler enter. Peg knocks over a chair in 
searching for matches, which are on the hearth-shelf. Finding 
them, she strikes one, and lights a candle, which she takes 
from the mantel. 

Peg 

[Shoving a chair in front of the hearth, the Traveler 
sits down.] Sit down ! I '11 get the fire goin' in just 
a minute. [Lighting fire on hearth and fanning it 
with her skirt] It 's cold for June. You 're cold, 
ain't you.'^ [Noticing the Traveler, whose head is 
buried in his hands] Say, you 're sick? 

Traveler 
[Raising his head] Sick? Yes — Soul sick ! Soul sick ! 

Peg 

[Perplexed, rising and going towards the cupboard] 

[16] 



0/lf^ THE SECOND ACT ^ 

When you 've eaten you '11 feel better. [Taking 
from cupboard, bowls, loaf of bread and a pitcher. 
Peering in cupboard,] There ain't much. [Looking 
about] but I ain't hungry. [Bringing things to the 
table] Here 's bread and milk. Eat ! You 're starvin' 
— ^that 's what ails you. [Traveler rising goes to 
table] Starved — own up, ain't you? Down and out, 
discouraged, world 's against you, eh? 

Traveler 
Yes, you are right ; I am starved and more — more. 
[Closing his eyes and passing his hand across them] 
Hungering for which I came and found not. [Sitting 
down at table, while Peg cuts the bread. She looks 
into the milk-pitcher, pouring out some milk, then 
stops,] 

Peg 

There ; I guess that '11 be enough for it, and that 's 
for you [Pushing bowl towards him. Traveler begins 
to eat. Peg, going to old box in the corner by the bed, 
peeps in.] Bless it, sleepin' ! Ain't even stirred, have 
you? [Tiptoeing back to Traveler] Wait 'till it cries ! 
It 's like a httle bird a' callin'. And wait 'till you 
see its little hand ! It 's like a flower-petal in my 
rough 'un. And bless it, when it smiles ! [Clasping 

117] 



THE SECOND ACT isV 



her hand] But I told you about the smile ; [Per- 
plexed] no, I ain't ; but its smile is just like that 
smile. 'T was last week, I sat a' rockin' and a 'sing- 
in' to it, and it went sound asleep, and I sat there 
a' holdin' it, so, 'till I fell off, too. I dreamed I 
was n't alone here ; 't was as if there was people 
talkin' all 'round me and a' movin' in the room ; 
and they talked, like people do talk when a baby 
ain't no father to stand by it, and point at you and 
laugh, and you hate 'em ; and I felt as if 1 could kill 
'em, all of 'em, throwin' their goodness, which 
ain't cost 'em nothin', in my face. And it screamed 
[Laughing] — I 'd hugged it so hard. Bless it ! It 
woke up, and cried ; and I was a' cryin', too, 
harder 'en it, when I see a man beside me. His 
hand was on my shoulder, and he looked at me and 

smiled, just smiled, and then [A cry from the 

box in the corner. Peg jumps up, hastens to it and 
carefully lifts out a baby, well wrapped in shawl.] 
There, was it hungry, was it.*^ Don't you worry ! 
Peg 's got its supper, you hold it. [Thrusting the 
baby into Traveler's arms] Don't drop it — careful ! 
See ! [Joyously] It knows I ain't holdin' it, ain't it 
lovely, ain't it.^^ [Peg pours milk into saucepan, 
holding it overjire, and anxiously watching the child.] 

[18] 



i«» THE SECOND ACT ^ 

Traveler 
Why do you call the baby " It "? 

Peg 

I ain't ever found a name that just suited me. I 
wanted somethin' awful happy, hke she 's made me 
since she come. She 's made me forget — she has — 
him ; he was a soldier. I wanted somethin' that was 
just her own, not Jenny or Kate or any thin'. 
[Snatching the saucepan back] I come near gettin' it 
too hot. [Pouring milk into bottle, which she gets 
from cupboard] 

Traveler 
Let 's name her Joy ! Joy ! [Musing] Men give their 
lives ; women even more. Out of the greater sin 
springs the lesser, which Thou turnest into blind 
blessings — clean from the unclean ! 

Peg 
[Thoughtfully] Why, every baby ought to be named 
Joy first, even if it ain't for but a day or so — just to 
let 'em know how you felt before you plaster 
Mary-Jane on 'em. Joy, that 's it, Joy. [Taking the 
baby] Hungry, ain't you? Did I forget you? Not a 

119] 



THE SECOND ACT 



bit of it — only I found another as starved as your- 
self that came back to have a bite, too. [Begins to 
feed the baby; hearing bells] I ain't no use for those 
bells ; [Nodding to window] they generally wake it 
up, clangin' away just when the blessed 's asleep. 

Traveler 
Sleeping children are all they awaken. 

Peg 

[Slowly walking towards window^ cuddling baby] 
Golly ! There 's a lot of 'em goin' tonight. Ever 
been in one of 'em? Churches I mean.^ [Traveler 
shakes his head.] I don't often go ; they ain't much 
use for my kind, anyway. 

Traveler 
What do they do in there .^^ 

Peg 

Mostly pray and sings and gets talked to. It may 
be all right, all right ; but give me a dime to take 
me out to Pleasure Park, where I can sit in the 
grass and sleep under the trees and come home 
rested. Do you hear? [As a voice is heard] That 

[20] 



0/if^ THE SECOND ACT 



feller gets paid a lot. Funny, ain't it, how when it 's 
'im who give the voice that he can't sing for 'im 
without gettin' paid. They don't do nothing for 
love ; you can bet these churches is all business. 
Even ninety-eight cents is marked on the back 
pews, and the highbrows gets the near-t he-orches- 
tra seats with orchestra prices, you can bet. 

Traveler 
[Raising his hands in appeal] I wonder had I better 
go? Is it yet time? 

Peg 

Lord, no ! It ain't time ; it ain't ever time for you 
and me in there, not in these rags. Say, they 'd 
bundle you out. 

Traveler 

[Bitterly] My God, my God, why have you for- 
saken me ! 

Peg 

Don't take on so ; forget it ! Look at it, asleep ; 
[Caressing baby] peaceful as a kitten in an ash-can. 
Just you go to sleep in front of the fire, and it '11 

[21] 



^ THE SECOND ACT 4% 

be all right. Never mind what it is — just take my 
word for it. I Ve been up against it, too. It '11 come 
out all right. [It is now quite dark, and the wind 
begins to blow. Peg puts the child in the box, covering 
it well.] Blowin' up a storm ! Better throw another 
stick on the fire. [Coming towards him] Some say 
the wind makes 'em lonesome, spooky kinda, but 
I like it — it sings around like il was play in'. Hear 
it sing ! [Listening] 

Traveler 

I hear ; but I hear, too, the cry of little children 
who came, unwanted, and unloved have stayed. 
Their cries reach me, even though I stop my ears. 
Oh, the cry of unloved children, unloved children ! 
And down below they pray ! [Rising, going to 
window] Men and women, on bended knees do 
mumble o'er Thy name, pausing not to listen to the 
prayer that Thou dost utter. Hour after hour, year 
after year, they have heard Thee not. Their voices 
drown Thine. I speak, they mock me, sneer at me. 
My first crucifixion was easier, for they knew me 
not. Now they have forgotten, forgotten, forgotten 
me, [The dim light in the room forms a halo over His 
head,] forgotten me ! [Head in hands] 

22 



0/lf^ THE SECOND ACT 



Peg 

[Approaching him^ noticing halo, is frightened. 
Traveler, raising His head, smiles at her. Peg, dazed, 
half-aloiid,] The smile ! The smile ! [Dropping on her 
knees] 

Traveler 

Woman of the cleansing mother-love, and men 
dare call it unsanctified ! Men, their hands still 
red-dripping with brother-blood, beneath whose 
thin-skinned religion, the eager excuse for this, all 
this supreme horror lay but slumbering ! [Sadly] 
Civilized? Too often do they use the word I Chil- 
dren, children they are, wilfully deaf, dumb and 
blind ! 

Peg 

And you, who are you, tell me, tell me? 

Traveler 

[With attempt to control emotion] I am He who 
smiled once upon you in your dream. Men do call 
me Christ. They wait for me ; yet have I come and 
they in waiting have forgot. They raise churches 
in my name, where I am a stranger ! They mumble 

[23] 



^ 



THE SECOND ACT 



* 



words and call it prayer. They crush the beauty 
that was theirs, stamp out the lives that were not 
theirs to take, all in my name, my name ! The name 
they have forgot ! 




24 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



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